Boat propulsion apparatus



Feb. 5, 1946. H. H. RAuLERsoN l BOAT I ROPULSION APPARATUS Filed Jan.13, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet v 1.

jI-NVENTR. H A! IPM/595ml Feb. 5, 1946. H. H. RAuLERsoN f 2,394,011'

BOAT PRoPULSIoN APPARATUS .Filed Jan. 13, 1945 2 sheetsshee't 2 5l A v52 l r INVENTOR. HH. nuz Emsa/v Patented Feb. 5, 1946 UNITED STATESPATENT oEFlcE 2,394,011 f BOAT PRoPULsIoN APPARATUS v Hardy H.Raulerson, Iiong Beach, Calif. Application` January 13, 1945, Serial No.572,655

9 Claims.

rIhis invention relates to a boat propulsion apparatus.

The general object of the invention is to provide a novel apparatus forproviding rotary driving motion from a pivoted member.

A more specific object of ther invention is to provide a boat propellingapparatus including a pivoted operating arm and novel means connectingthe arm to a propeller for driving a boat.

A further object of the invention is to provide a boat propellingapparatus including a pivoted operating member and wherein means isprovided which is operative during a portion of the movement of themember to simultaneously drive a propeller and energize a spring devicewhich latter serves to drive the propeller during another portion of themovement of the operating member.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel drive mechanismfor a boat propeller.

Another object of the invention is to provide a boat propellingapparatus including novel means .for driving and feathering a propeller.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a boat propulsion apparatus embodying thefeatures of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a section partly in side elevation view, and takensubstantially on line 2-2 of Fig.' 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of a portion of the propeller pitchchanging device taken on line 3-3, Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the propeller taken on line 4-4, Fig. 1;I

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of the propeller hub and the pitchchanging mechanism as enclosed therein and taken on line 5--5, Fig. l;

Fig. 6 is a section taken on line 6 6, Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged section taken on line 1'l, Fig. 1;

Fig. 8 is a transverse section taken on line 8-8, Fig. 7, and

Referring to the drawings .by reference characters, I have shown myinvention as embodied in a boat propulsion apparatus which is indicatedgenerally as at III). AS shown, the device includes a frame -having endwalls II, side walls I2, and a bottom I3. Journaled in suitable bearingsI4 on the side walls I2, I provide a shaft I5 which 55.l bers has anoperatingv handle IB 4rigidly `secured thereto. A crank arm I1 is fixedon the outer end of the shaft I5 of a link i8. The other end of the linkI8 is attached to a crankv I9 which is fixed on a shaft 20. lThe shaft20 has a bevel gear 2I thereon which drives a pinion gear 22 on Jahollow shaft 23. The shaft 23 passes through a hole 24 in the adjacentend wall II and has a propeller indicated generally at 24' mountedthereon.

A spur gear 2-5 attached to the shaft 2:0- is adapted to drive a smallerspur gear 26 which yhas a crank arm 21 thereon. One end of a cable 28 isattached to the *crankv` arm 21 and runs over and has the other endattached to a segmental pulley 29 mounted on a shaft 30, journaled inthe side walls I2 of the frame I0.

An eccentric cam pulley 3|, also mounted ron the shaft 30 supportsanother cable 32 which has its inner end attached to one end of atension spring 33, the other end of the spring being fixed to a cable 34which is fastened as at 35 to the lower end of a pitchA changing lever36 mounted on a shaft 31l which is rotatably supported in bearing 31 onthe side walls I2 of the frame.

A pair of arms 38 are attached at one end to the shaft 31 as at 39, andhave their other'ends attached to clamps 40 at 4I. The clamps 46 arefixed tothe outer race A of a bearing 42.y The inner race B of thebearing is fixed to a sleeve 43, which is slidably supported on theshaft 23, and upon movement of the lever 36 and the arms 38, a rod 44,enclosed within the hollow shaft 23, may be moved back and forth througha connection between the sleeve 43 and the rod 44, con-y 46 in the' pin45 that Slides in a Slot sisting of a This structure is clearly shown inshaft 23. Fig. '7.

'I'he propeller 24' a rear streamlined. portion 52,A which includes ahub 50., having portion 5I, and a forward threadedly engages the rearend of the shaft 23 as at 53. Reaction blades 54 and 55 are mounted onthe portion 52, and have inwardly extending shafts 56` whichv are heldin alignment by a sleeve 51. Outward of the sleeve 51, I provideS-shaped crank arms 58 and 59 which may be attached to links 60 and 6Iwhich are pivotally pinned to the rearward end of the rod 44 as at 62.The cranks 58 and 59 are held against rotation by means of pins 63 and64 which also serve to retain the shafts 56 in position. Packing glandsmay be provided for the blades as shown at 65 and for the mem- 5I and 52as shown at 61.

and is attached to one end Vsuch shifting of the lever To hold the lever36 in adjusted position, I provide a toothed. rack 10 (Fig. 3) which isengaged .by a dog l'II pivoted at 12 tothe lever 36 Y and urged toseated position by a spring 13.

The gear 26 is one-halfA the diameter of the gear 25 so that a ratio of2: 1 is provided.

As shown, the shaft I has an arm 15 depending therefrom. One `endof aspring 16 is secured to this arm 15 while the other end of the spring issecured to the'adjacent end wall Y II.

be driven through the rod I 8 and thecrank I9,Y

to drive the propeller 24,'. The construction of the gears 25 and 26,the pulleys 29'and 3I-and the spring 33 is such that approximately halfthe energy at the lever I6 is transferred to the spring and the otherhalf is put into the propeller. This energy in the spring is returnedYto thejdrive shaft at the extreme forward and back positions Y ofthelever I6. This will cause a counterbalancing effect to make for ease inoperating the mechanism. Y

The pitch of the blades may be varied` by moving the rod 44 whereuponthe arms 66 and 6I will cause the crank arms 58 and 59 to rotate theshafts56 and in turn the blades 54 and 55, to any predeterminedposition.

'I'he movement of the lever 36 to adiustvthe propeller pitch alsosimultaneously reduces or increases the tension on the spring 33depending upon the direction of movement of the rod.' This prevents asudden change in the amount of power required to operate the lever I6when the pitch of the propeller 24 is altered. Y n

In Yoperation the propeller24 is Varranged at the rear of the boat andthe handle I6V moves to the left in Fig. 2 when pulled by the operatorYand moves to the right in Fig. 2 when pushed by the operator. Duringthe pulling of this' handle I6 the pull of the spring 16 is increasedand this increased pull is given up when the drive shaft, manual meansfor rotating said drive shaft, a propeller shaft, means for driving saidpropeller shaft from said drive shaft, a second shaft, means operated bythe drive shaftforoscillating the second shaft, a cam member on saidsecond shaft, said cam member including a cam portion having a spiralworking surface, v

a flexible member anchored tosaid cam member and engaging the workingsurface of said cam, a resilient member havin-g one end connected tosaid flexible member, means to anchor the other end of said resilientmember, and a propeller on said propeller shaft.

2. A `propulsion apparatus including a drive Y.

shaft, manual means for rotating said drive shaft, a propellershaft,means for driving said propeller shaft from said drive shaft, crankmeans, means to drive the crank means at twice the speed of thedriveshaft, a second shaft, a cam member onv said second shaft, said cammember including a cam portion having a spiral working surface, aflexible member anchored to said cam member and engaging the workingsurfaceY of said cam, a resilient member having one end connected tosaid flexible member, means to anchor the other end of said resilientmember, a pulley on said second shaft, and a second flexible memberhaving one end connected to the pulley and the other end connected tosaid crank means, the relation of said cam working surface and saidcrank means being such that when the crank means is nearest to thesecond shaft the second flexible member operatively engages the portionof the cam most remote fromV its axis and approaches its axis as thecrank means recedes from the second shaft. 3. A boat propulsionapparatus including a drive shaft, manual means for rotating said driveshaft, a propeller shaft, means for driving said handle I 6 is pushedforwardly. It is a well recogf Vnized fact that a person can pull alever moreV readily than he can push it and the spring 1,6 tends toVcompensate for thisV difference.

The tension of the spring Handspring 33 when the lever 36 is vertical,as shown in Fig. 2, is even. Thus the pull of theV cable 34 on Y thellower end of the lever 36Y is largely taken When the lever 36 isshiftedl` Yforwardly or backwardly to change the pitch, the

up by the spring 11.

balance between the springs 33 and 11 permits to be easily accomplished.

an even flow of power lat the point -ofv traction; As a result there isno pulsating load and4 there are no points of dead center and thereforethe efliciency of the operatoris increased. With my construction anaction similar to that of aA ily wheel is produced with an even flow ofpower to the drive shaft and this constant flow of power` to the driveshaft increases the efficiency.

Havingy thus described'my invention and the present preferredembodiments thereof, I desire tok emphasize the fact that manyVmodifications mayberesorted to in by a `lust interpretation of thefollowing claims. Having thus described my invention, I claim: 1.'A boatpropulsion a Y manner limited only apparatus including a Withtheeccentric action describedV I secure '60 propeller shaft from saiddrive shaft, crank means, means to drive thecrank means at twice thespeed of the drive shaft, a second shaft, a cam member on said secondshaft, said cam mem@ ber including a cam portion having a spiralworkingsurface, a ilexiblemember'anchored to saidcam member and'engaging theworking surface of said cam, a resilient member having one end connectedto said flexible member, a shiftable anchor member, means to connecttheY other end of said resilient member to said anchormember, a pulleyon said second shaft, a second flexibleY memberhaving one end connectedto the pulley and the other end connected to lsaid crank means, therelation of said cam working surface and said crank meansV being suchthat when the crank means is nearest to the second shaft the secondflexible member operatively engages the portion of theV cam most remotefrom its axis and approaches its axis as the crank means recedes fromthe second shaft, and a propeller on said propeller shaft.

4. A boat propulsion apparatus including a manually operable actuatingmember, a drive shaft remote from the actuating member, means driven bysaid member for rotating said drive shaft, a propeller shaft, means onsaid drive shaft for driving said propeller shaft, crank means, means todrive the crank means at twice the speed of the drive shaft, a secondshaft, a cam member on said second shaft, said cam member including acam portion having a spiral working surface,` a flexible member anchoredto said cam member and engaging the working surface of said cam, aresilient member having one end connected to said flexible member, apivotedY arm,

shaft, a second flexible member having one end connected to the pulleyand the other -end connected to said crank means, the relation of saidcam working surface and said crank means being such that when the crankmeans is nearest to the second shaft the second flexiblememberoperatively engages the portion of 'the cam most remote from itsaxis and approaches its axis as the crank means recedes from the secondshaft, and a propeller on said propeller shaft.

5. A boat propulsion apparatus including a pivoted operating lever, avdrive shaft remote `from the lever, meansdriven by said klever forrotating said drive shaft, a propeller shaft, means on said drive shaftfor driving said propeller shaft, crank means, means to drive the crankmeans at twice the speed of the drive shaft, a second shaft, a cammember on said second shaft, said cam member including a cam portionhaving a spiral working surface, a flexible member anchored to said cammember and engaging the working surface of said cam, a resilient memberhaving one end connected to said flexible member, a pivoted arm, meansto connect the other end of said resilient member to said arm, a pulleyon said second shaft, a second flexible member having one end 'connectedto the pulley and the other end connected to said crank means, therelation of said cam working surface and said crank means being suchthat when the crank means is nearest to the second shaft the secondflexible member operatively engages the portion of the cam most remotefromits axis and approaches its axis as the crank means recedes from thesecond shaft, and a propeller on said propeller shaft.

6. A boat propulsion apparatus including a piv oted operating lever, adrive shaft remote from the lever, means driven by said lever forrotating said drive Shaft, a propeller shaft, means on said drive shaftfor driving said propellerl shaft, crank means, means to drive the crankmeans at twice the speed of the drive shaft, a second shaft, a cammember on said second shaft, said cam member including a cam portionhaving a working surface, a flexible member anchored to said cam memberand engaging the working surface of said cam, a resilient member havingone end connected to said flexible member, a pivoted arm,

means to connect the other 'end of said resilient member to said arm, apulley on said second shaft, a second flexible member having one endconnected to the pulley and the other end connected to said crank means,the relation of said cam working surface and said crank means being suchthat when the crank means is nearest to the second shaft the secondflexible member operatively engages the portion of the cam most remotefrom its axis and approaches its axis as the crank means recedes fromthe second shaft, a propeller on said propeller shaft, said propellerincluding a hollow hub portion having feathering reaction bladesindependently rotatable thereon, means to feather each blade, and meansconnecting said feathering means to said pivote-d arm.

'1. A boat propulsion apparatus including a pivoted operating lever, adrive shaft remote from the lever, means driven by said lever forrotating said drive shaft, a propeller shaft, means on said drive shaftfor driving said propeller shaft, -a gear secured on said 'drive shaft,another gear driven by said first gear, said other gear being ofone-half the diameter of the first gear, crank means driven by saidother gear, a second shaft remote from said first shaft, a cam member onsaid second shaft, said cam member including pivoted to the rod a camvportion having a spiral working surface', a flexible member anchored tosaid cam member and engaging the working surface of said cam, 1aresilient'me'mber havingl one end connected to said flexible member, apivoted arm, lmeans Ito connect the other end of said resilient memberfto said arm, a pulley on said second sh-aft, a-second flexible memberhaving one end connected to the pulley andthe other end connected tosaid crank means, the relation of said cam working surface and saidcrank means being such that rwhen the crank means is nearest to thesecond shaft the second flexible member operatively-engages the portionof the cam most remote from its axis and approaches its axis as thecrank means recedes from the second shaft, a propeller on said propellershaft, said propeller including a hollow hub portion having featheringreaction blades independently rotatable thereon, means to feather eachblade, and means connecting said feathering means to said pivoted arm.

8. A boat propulsion apparatus including a pivoted operating lever, adrive shaft remote from the lever, crank means driven by said lever forrotating said drive shaft, a gear on said drivek a spiral workingsurface, afiexible member anchored to said cam member and engaging theworking surface of said cam, a resilient member having one end connectedto said flexible member, a pivoted arm, means to connect the other endof said resilient member to said arm, a segmental pulley on said secondshaft, a second flexible member disposed in said pulley groove andhaving one end connected to the pulley and the other end connected tosaid other crank means, the relation of said cam working surface andsaid other crank means being such that when the othercrankmeans isnearest to the second shaft the second flexible member operativelyengages the portion of the cam most remote from its axis and approachesits axis as the other crank means recedes from the second shaft, apropeller on said propeller shaft, said propeller including a hollow hubportion having a pair of axially aligned blade shafts thereon, afeathering reaction blade mounted on each blade shaft, a crank arm oneach blade shaft, said propeller shaft being hollow, a rod being mountedto move in said hollow propeller shaft, a pair of links and pivoted tothe crank arms, and means connecting said rod to said pivoted arm.

9. A boat propulsion apparatus including a pivoted operating lever, ladrive shaft remote from the lever, crank means driven by said lever forrotating said drive shaft, a gear on said drive shaft, a propellershaft, a gear on said propeller shaft and meshing with said first gear,a-third gear secured on said drive shaft, a fourth gear driven by saidthird gear, said fourth gear being of one-half the diameter of the thirdgear, other crank means driven by said fourth gear, a second shaftremote from said first shaft, a cam member on said second shaft, saidcam member including a cam portion having a spiral working surfacediminishing towards its axis, a flexible flexible member, a pivoted arm,means to connect the other end of said resilient member to said arm, asegmental Ygrooved pulley on said second shaft, a secondv exible memberdisposed in said pulley groove andV havingV one end connected to thepulleyw and having the other end connected to rsaid other crank means,the relation of said cam'working surface and said other crank meansbeing suchfthat'when the other crank means is nearest tothe second shaftthe second flexible member operatively engages the portion o1 the vcammost remote from its axis and approaches its axisas the other crankmeans recedes from Vthe second shaft, a propeller on said Y propellershaft, said propeller including a hollow hub portion having a. pair ofaxially. aligned blade shafts thereon, a feathering reaction blademounted on each blade shaft, a crank yarm on each blade shaft, saidpropeller shaft being hollow, a rod being mounted to move in Vsaidhollow propeller shaft, a pair of links pivoted to the rod andpivoted'to the crank arms, a bearing disposed aboutV said propellershaft, links connecting the outer elements of said bearing to saidpivoted arm shaft, a sleeve on said propeller shaft and con- Y nected tothe inner element of said bearing, said shaft having opposed slotstherein, and a pin connecting said rod and said sleeve and extendingthrough said slots.

HARDY H. RAULERSON.

